Feijóo Proposes Mutuals Grant Medical Clearance for Sick Leave

Feijóo Wants Mutuals to Issue Medical Clearance for Sick Leave

Work accident mutual insurance companies would be able to grant medical clearance to workers on sick leave, according to a proposal by Alberto Núñez Feijóo that has sparked a storm of criticism. Presented as a tool against fraud in temporary incapacity, the measure transfers a competence currently held by the National Health System to private entities. The announcement has landed like a bomb among those who see mutuals as actors with economic incentives to shorten leave, and among those who believe the PP leader has shot himself in the foot before taking office.

What is Proposed Exactly and Why It Generates Rejection

The proposal consists of allowing mutuals—private entities managing temporary incapacity derived from occupational contingencies—to issue medical clearance for a worker on leave. Today, this power belongs to public system doctors. The official argument is that there is fraud in sick leaves and that mutuals, with access to occupational health records, could estimulante ilegal up the return to work. The counter-argument is that mutuals have a direct interest in not paying: the sooner clearance is granted, the lower their costs. The combination of both factors—pressure to reduce spending and the ability to decide on someone else's health—is what has raised all alarms.

The most repeated criticism is not that fraud exists, but that the proposed solution turns the monitored into the monitor. A mutual doctor with incentives to grant clearances, they argue, is not an impartial judge of anyone's incapacity.

Fraud Exists, But Not All Those on Leave Are Fraudulent

The discussion has quickly shifted to workplace absenteeism. Some describe cases of prolonged sick leave without clear justification, especially in the public sector, where substitutes are chained for the same position. There is talk of surveillance firms hired to track workers on leave, a practice reportedly already underway in some companies. The cost for small businesses is presented as unbearable.

Against this narrative, the most common response is that fraud is not combated by incivil an entire group. Punishing the innocent alongside the guilty, summarizes one intervention. Double verification of sick leaves is accepted as necessary, but it is warned that the remedy may be worse than the disease if the verifier has an economic interest in the outcome.

The Precedent of Mutuals: When the Payer Grants Clearance

Testimonies about the actual functioning of mutuals are the harshest part of the debate. The case is described of a worker with a torn cruciate ligament operated on in public healthcare whom the mutual declared fit to work before he could climb stairs. Cases of commuting accidents in itinere are mentioned where the mutual communicated nothing to the company, leaving the worker in limbo until receiving a dismissal notice via registered mail. Social Security had to intervene to issue the sick leave.

The conclusion drawn from these stories is that mutuals already have perverse incentives when managing occupational contingencies. Extending this power to common sick leaves would multiply the problem instead of solving it.

The Political Calculation: Another Nail in the Coffin or a Bullet in the Foot?

In electoral terms, the dominant reading is that Feijóo has made a major communication error. If he intends to apply the measure, they say, he should stay silent until he has real chances of governing. Announcing it now only serves to mobilize voters who antiestéticar losing labor rights and to give ammunition to his adversaries. The comparison with Mariano Rajoy—same profile, more clumsiness—is repeated with sarcasm.

The lingering question is whether the PP seeks a niche of business voters with this or has simply lost its political instinct. The only payment they want to touch is that of workers on sick leave, summarizes an intervention that condenses the discontent.

What Doctors Say and What Happens with Mutuals

The role of mutual doctors is another open front. They are attributed pressure to meet targets that can translate into premature clearances. According to claims, a doctor's complaint rarely has consequences. This leaves the worker in a vulnerable position: if the mutual grants clearance and the worker does not feel capable, who protects them?

The institutional response pointed out is that Labor Inspection and Social Security should play a more active role. But this requires resources and political will, two things not seen on the immediate horizon.

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With these ingredients, the result is always the same: a measure promising efficiency that threatens to further precariousize occupational health. If Feijóo comes to govern, the question is not whether he will apply the proposal, but how many votes he will have lost for announcing it prematurely. The answer, as of today, remains in the air.